Features

By: John Kennedy/ November 8, 2013

Either Jay Electronica has been carefully whittling away at his storied Act II: Patents of Nobility (The Turn) LP—one of the most anticipated debuts amongst OkayPlayer types since, well, ever—or the mega-hype around his Roc Nation album has given him a bout of cold feet.

But he’s certainly not sitting on a blank hard drive, trolling us like some hip-hop Jimmy Kimmel.

UK producer Naughty Boy, who produced the bulk of Emeli Sandé’s acclaimed rookie album Our Version of Events, says he’s been working with the New Orleans-bred lyricist on his long-awaited project.

“I’ve heard some of his stuff—I just did a song with Emeli for his album,” says Naughty Boy, who also helped write and produce “Half Of Me” for Rihanna’s Unapologetic LP. “He’s got stuff with Kanye, Jay Z. I’m telling you…”

He continues: “Just because something takes time to make doesn’t mean that it’s not great. He’s great. It’s an album that’s worth waiting for.”

The 28-year-old producer says he bumped into Electron in London and they’ve since recorded several tracks.

Of a standout collaboration called “Happen,” he says: “There’s no drums. It’s just classical strings. He’s the type of rapper that can definitely take hip-hop to other places musically.”

Aside from working with Jay Electronica, Naughty Boy is riding the wave of his international smash “La La La,” which has racked up more than 172 million views on YouTube. The Sam Smith-featured track appears on Naughty Boy’s eclectic Hotel Cabana album, which was released in the UK in August.

Naughty Boy says the American version of Hotel Cabana, which will also include a Jay Electronica and Emeli Sandé collaboration, is set for a spring 2014 release. —John Kennedy